Page 4 of So I Married an Alien
Lower-class Karthinian mating rituals are much simpler.You agree to be a union and then live out that union—without all this pomp and circumstance.We do not have the luxuries of rings and ceremonies in the Hole.
Adapting to human culture will likely involve a lot of change and learning for me.Amara is an odd creature, besides the two arms.Her face is an appealing shape with high cheekbones and a pointed chin, and she has huge dark eyes.I have never seen a being that looks like her before, with voluminous wavy brown hair cascading down her back.
I would not have made such a wild decision as bringing home a stranger, were I in her position.In fact, I would be happy to live alone if I had the money and means to do so.But when the Galactic Matching Program opened, I realized it was the only way I could escapeNew Dro’thar IIin my natural life.
Once the idea was put into my head of getting off our ship, of leaving behind the scrap metal and the dirty water and constant struggle, I couldn’t shake the thought.I couldn’t bear an entire life lived in the dark underbelly ofNew Dro’thar IIwith UV lights glaring down from overhead in the few “sun” rooms.Even just this glimpse out the window at the port steals my attention.
What is beyond?As we flew in this morning, the landscape from overhead took my breath away.Earth is strange and yet lovely, covered in a green color I’ve never witnessed in such great quantities.
I wonder if you can eat it.
“Roth’kar,” Gazargo says, “it’s time to sign the agreement to the thirty-day trial period.”
Both Amara and I write our names on the tablet, and then it’s finished.I look forward to returning in thirty days and getting my official residency on Earth, so I can leave all this silliness behind me.
“Now, should anything come up, feel free to call.”Gazargo fishes around in his pocket, withdrawing a communicator, and passes it to me.“We believe that we’ve matched the two of you well, but should there be a problem, let us know.We would like to try to mediate before resorting to separation.”
I will give the human woman no reason to send me home.In fact, I could crush this communicator right now and that would solve the problem.
But I don’t.I give the little Frahma an appreciative nod and tuck it away.
“Dang,” says Amara under her breath.“I wanted a cool alien gadget.”
Then, suddenly, we are done, and it’s time for us to leave.For me to leave, with her, with this strange woman on this strange planet where I know none of the rules or customs.
Perhaps I should have studied humans a little before coming.There was just too much to do to get ready to leave, too many people I had to say goodbye to.I gave away what things I had left, rationing them out to those who needed them most, knowing I wouldn’t require them anymore once I arrived on Earth.
That’s the trade.Amara gets me, a “husband,” and I get a new home on a planet that hasn’t yet been consumed by greed—with all my needs taken care of.A life I could never have imagined for myself before that short, stubby alien showed up on our spaceship with a monstrous voice projector that enforcers had to fight to take away from him.He was so eagerly shouting about something called “Mexican food.”
I follow Amara out another door into the spaceport, trailing behind her as we cross the crescent-moon-shaped dock.Even if we wanted to speak, we couldn’t with the sound of engines roaring to life and ships arriving.But she does glance over her shoulder at me, shooting me an apologetic look.
“We’re over here!”she shouts, loud enough my translator can pick it up.I nod in understanding and keep pace with her, carrying my one mostly empty bag.
We duck through yet another door and emerge from the spaceport into a great field of black pavement.It’s littered with ground-traveling vehicles, which stops me short.
“Wheels?”I ask, amazed.“Your vehicles still have wheels?”So the humans haven’t even reached the point of hovercraft yet.
Amara appears perplexed.“Yes?What else would they have?”
I shake my head ruefully.I heard from friends that humans were not that advanced of a species, but I didn’t realize the full extent of it.
“They would fly, obviously.Or hover.Wheels require roads, which are a terrible waste of space.”
Amara gazes out at the sprawling parking lot, then taps her chin.“You’re not wrong about that.”She shrugs.“Oh well!No flying cars yet, so Toyota Corolla it is.”
“Toyo-tah… what?”
She gestures for me to follow, so I do, eager to get to where we’re going and perhaps have something to eat.They fed me during the journey, but it wasn’t enough.After the number of meals I’ve skipped in my life, I devoured everything.
I hope Amara is prepared for a Karthinian’s appetite.I hope that her food is better thankath, the protein bars we eat onNew Dro’thar II.
We pass vehicle after vehicle until we reach a squat green one.Amara opens a door for me and gestures to get in, so I crouch and slide onto the gray fabric seat.Then she closes the door, locking me inside the small space.
She hops in on the other side and tosses her bag into the backseat carelessly.The vehicle’s engine groans as it starts.Amara shoots me a nervous smile, then backs out of her parking spot, glancing over her shoulder.
Though we’re navigating long stretches of pavement and creeping between tall buildings, all I can see is thesky.It’s a marvelous bright blue, with dots of white clouds occasionally drifting over the single sun.
Real sun, not just UV lamps.As we take a turn, it hits my skin, warming me to the bone, and I close my eyes to drink it in.
